Chariots of Fire (1981)

Excellent film, OP. Many today may not understand the significance, but in my opinion it's subtly riveting.

I loved this film when I was in high school (and obsessed with the UK and Oxford in particular) but haven't seen it in a long time and not sure how it's held up

I loved it

It's a decent film with some good eye candy. I had a crush on Nigel Havers back in the day.

You better like watching men run, otherwises it's a bloody bore.

It is by no means better than Reds.

Oops, just realized it was filmed in Cambridge, not Oxford

I thought it was better than Reds

R2 same here. I graduated high school in 1984 so this was an early high school obsession of mine. I was all about everything U.K. since I hated the Reagan America of my youth. Lots of handsome guys, Nigel, Ben Cross, Ian Charleston who later died of AIDS, and Brad Davis, another AIDS fatality.

^Ian Charlson

I know the theme song ended up being used for parody scenes in later films and skits, but I enjoy it.

Needed some homosex.

I saw it when it was first in theaters. I don't remember a lot about it, except that it was very long. I do remember hunky little Brad Davis being in one scene and thinking it was odd that he was an American actor in a British movie and that he had no lines, even though he had been a big star for a while when this movie came out.

r13 he had a couple lines, iirc. And his accent seemed VERY American, but maybe it was because it was juxtaposed with the English/Scottish accents of the other actors

R14 don't remember him speaking in the movie, but then again, my memories of it are fuzzy.

Brad was playing one of the American runners, that's why he didn't use a British accent

Oh I know, r16. But for whatever reason the accent stood out to me as very pronounced . That's why I remembered he had a speaking part

...

^ I forgot Dennis Christopher was in it, too

Oh wait - maybe Dennis Christopher had the heavy American accent.

I'm going to have to watch this again ...

I remember seeing it at a matinee when it opened. I found it kinda boring—the guy I was with sobbed through the ending. Go figure.

I remember seeing the trailer for this and the music was riveting from the first note. The camera work of them running along the beach was like something you had never quite seen before. I'd always wished that Ben Cross became a bigger star. I think Reds is a truly important film but I wonder if I would have voted for CoF anyway. What I like about it is its complete Englishness. A story like that, about duty and honor, discipline and devotion, doesn't have enough thrills for an American, though it was very popular. Every part of it was perfect.

I saw The English Patient with two friends who wept at the end, while I sat dry-eyed and bored silly,

[quote]Charleson's death was the first celebrity death in the United Kingdom openly attributed to AIDS

I didn't realize this

[quote]What I like about it is its complete Englishness. A story like that, about duty and honor, discipline and devotion, doesn't have enough thrills for an American, though it was very popular. Every part of it was perfect.

I loved the scene at Oxford with the long list of names documenting the impact of the Great War on that sector of society. Something that would never happen again. But very English, very Victorian.

The scene that introduced the American athletes was funny.

Loved all the clothes Ben Cross' American girlfriend wore. My favorite fashion detail was the blazers instead of sweatshirts on the British competitors.

Below the opening scene - 3 minutes long.

Sorry, posted the set of clips set to Vangelis' theme. Here's is the wonderful opening scene.

I found REDS to be painful. But it was an eternity ago since I saw it.

I hadn't watched that intro in forever, r26. Thanks!

I always thought the man, the boy, and the dog were the perfect ending for it.

Actually, either Atlantic City or Raiders of the Lost Ark would have been more interesting BP choices.

Raiders of the Lost Ark was great, but action/adventure isn't Oscar's favorite "jandra"

Seriously, no homosex?

[quote] I found REDS to be painful.

I know it's blasphemy, but I felt the same way about Raging Bull.

SCTV did a great parody.

R33 LOL! Why do I remember this more than I remember the actual "Chariots of Fire" movie?

The Executive Producer was Princess Diana's boyfriend and fellow-passenger-fatality Dodi Fayed.

The Chariots of Fire theme by Vangelis takes me back to my first gay experience (in London, where I was a 17 year old American exchange student). The older guy (26) that I was with played this when we were talking in his living room before he made his move on me.